


and there were you, all mysterious and smooth (wrapped in riddles, worth a little scar or two)

by Shadowcrawler



Category: Dollhouse
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Race Changes, F/F, Fluff, Stealth Crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-11-01
Updated: 2011-11-04
Packaged: 2017-10-25 14:37:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/271371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcrawler/pseuds/Shadowcrawler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bennett Halverson was drawn to the strange woman right away, for reasons even she didn't understand. (features Time Lord!Caroline and companion!Bennett)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Hannah, who indirectly inspired this, and to Reed (I hope it makes you smile).
> 
> Note: this idea is extremely ridiculous and I won't blame you if you turn back now. May become a series of vignettes if I feel so inclined.

She caught sight of the strange woman from across the courtyard. Bennett didn't usually look twice at people, especially not while she was heading to class, but this time something made her stop.

The woman lounged on one of the courtyard benches as if she'd always been there, watching people walk by with a lazy smile on her face. She wore a very expensive looking pantsuit, and a fedora was perched jauntily atop her head. Before Bennett could look away, the woman caught her eye and grinned at her. The sudden, intense eye contact both made Bennett want to run away and go closer. The almost predatory gaze seemed to burn right through her.

"What the _hell_?"

Bennett was jolted out of her reverie by the exclamation. She blinked. Another girl was standing there, glaring at her. "God, what's your deal?" she snapped. "Watch where you're going!"

"What?"

" _You_ bumped into me, freak. What are you, retarded or something?" The girl stepped forward, finger pointing accusingly.

"I…I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"Hey, chill out." The voice was new, female, but low and smooth. Bennett jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see the strange woman standing next to her, one eyebrow raised. "Accidents happen. Let it go."

Seemingly taken aback at what had just happened, the other girl scowled and backed away, made an indignant snorting noise, and stalked off. Her defender turned and smiled at Bennett. "You okay?"

She nodded, scarcely able to speak. "F-Fine," she said finally. "Thank you, I don't know how to…"

"Don't worry about it." The woman smiled. "It wasn't your fault. What's your name?" Unlike most people who asked that question, she sounded like she was genuinely interested in the answer.

"I - I'm Bennett. Bennett Halverson."

"Nice to meet you, Bennett Halverson. I'm Caroline." As she spoke, she gently guided Bennett back to the bench.

Bennett, confused at the amount of attention Caroline was paying her, asked, "What are you doing here? Applying, or…?"

"Well, I'm just passing through, really. I'm…not from around here." Caroline chuckled, as if she was sharing a private joke with herself. "And you? Student here, I'm guessing?"

Nodding, Bennett mumbled, "Neuroscience major."

"So you're pretty smart, huh? You like studying people's brains?"

"Yes, I…I find it's helpful for me to understand people. How they work, how they function." Then Bennett felt bold, just for a moment, and asked, "Where are you going after this?"

Caroline shrugged. "It depends really, on whether I find who I'm looking for."

"You're looking for someone?"

Once again she stared right into Bennett's eyes. "Yeah. A traveling companion, of sorts. You know," she added in an offhand manner, "you might do."

The word sprang from Bennett's lips almost before she knew what was happening. "Please."

Caroline grinned and raised an eyebrow. "You're an eager little thing, aren't you? I like that. Oh, and did I mention we can go _anywhere_ , anytime? Dream big, Benny. You just got your ticket to the universe."

"What do you mean?" Normally Bennett would have dismissed this woman as crazy, but for some reason what Caroline was saying intrigued her.

"C'mon, I'll show you." Jumping up, Caroline grabbed Bennett's hand and pulled her to her feet, then led her toward a group of bushes several hundred yards away. And Bennett went.

Stopping in front of the largest one, Caroline said, "Okay, I'm gonna show you something amazing. Promise you won't freak out, okay?" Bennett nodded shakily, and Caroline, still holding her hand, kept walking...into the bush, gently pulling Bennett by the hand.

Unprepared, Bennett closed her eyes and winced, expecting a faceful of leaves...but after a moment, she felt nothing of the sort. Confused, she opened her eyes - and gasped.

She was standing inside what seemed to be a large control room, which was somehow at once both metal and organic. There were so many colors, it was all so beautiful... "What is this place?"

Caroline had moved away from her and towards the center of the room, where a large column had more switches and buttons than Bennett could count. Her eyes were bright and she was smiling fondly. "This is my TARDIS - best ship in the world. She goes anywhere, anytime, in the universe. And she likes you," she added in a playful tone. "Sometimes if she doesn't like who I bring home, she'll give 'em a whack on their way in."

"She?" This was all a bit much for Bennett to take in.

"Of course," said Caroline with a wink. "This old girl and I have been together for a long time now, haven't we?" She patted the console. "But it gets a little lonely just with two, y'know? 'Specially cause she's not much of a talker."

Bennett began to move around the room, inspecting it with the critical eye of someone who studies the tiniest elements of the body on a regular basis. "But how is it even possible for her to contain a larger mass inside a smaller one? I've been reading some fascinating articles about compression fields but they're only meant to be theoretical, so…"

And then Caroline suddenly kissed her in midsentence, and the world stopped.

After a moment Caroline pulled back and grinned, and Bennett could only grin back, dazed. "You're so cute," she murmured, stroking Bennett's cheek with her thumb. "I knew I'd picked the right person."

Bennett chuckled nervously. "I'm really not anything special…"

"Oh, you _are_. I knew it from the minute I saw you. You and me, we’re gonna have a great time together.” And Caroline sounded so sure of that that Bennett couldn’t imagine anything else.


	2. Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is disgustingly fluffy. I apologize.

Sometimes, Caroline would accompany Bennett to bed, holding her close as she fell asleep. The first night, Bennett was surprised but not unhappy with this special attention – though Caroline had neglected to mention one small thing.

“Why does your heartbeat sound like it’s echoing?” It didn’t frighten Bennett, exactly, but she was very confused. She moved away slightly from where she’d been cuddled against Caroline’s chest.

“Oh, that,” said Caroline, sounding amused. “I, ah, have two hearts. Part of being a Time Lord. Forgot to mention that, huh?”

In fact, she had mentioned her species, but not given much explanation beyond that. “Yes, but…it’s okay,” said Bennett quickly, nestling back down. “I can, uh, get used to it.”

As Bennett closed her eyes, she felt Caroline chuckle deep in her chest. “You’d better, Benny, cause I’m liking this.”

So Bennett grew accustomed to falling asleep in Caroline’s arms, with her twin heartbeats for a lullaby. She’d never slept so well or so deeply before. And when she woke, Caroline would still be there, often watching her with a fond smile and warm brown eyes. She would kiss her good morning, and then cheerfully suggest several times or places they could visit that day. Or sometimes they would just lie there for a while, not talking, just silent and content. Bennett liked those mornings best.


	3. Loneliness

Bennett hadn’t paid any particular attention to the subject of astronomy since she was a little girl, but since she’d begun to travel with Caroline she found herself fascinated by everything. She wanted to keep traveling the universe forever – though she knew she could explore it for her entire life and not come close to seeing even a fraction of its entirety.

Once Caroline took her to see a dying star as it finally burned out, and it was so melancholically beautiful that she thought she might weep. Caroline was silent as they watched, clutching Bennett’s hand. It was only later that she admitted that she’d seen hundreds of star-deaths, but she hadn’t really _felt_ them for a long time. Not until that day.

“But how – how could you get used to something like that?” Bennett couldn’t imagine that.

Caroline tried to smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s how it goes when it’s just you and the universe, Benny.” She suddenly looked much older, and so tired and sad, and Bennett instinctively put her arms around her in hopes of comforting her. Leaning her head on Bennett’s shoulder, Caroline sighed. “That’s why you’re here,” she whispered, clinging to Bennett suddenly, as if she were the only thing keeping her anchored at that moment. “So that doesn’t happen anymore.”

Surprised by Caroline’s honesty, Bennett didn’t reply for a while, just held her. Before today, she hadn’t really understood why Caroline had chosen her to travel with, but now she saw it clearly. It was almost like something from an ancient myth: the goddess who traveled the universe but lived apart from it and forgot how to feel, and needed the help of a mortal to remember. The idea frightened Bennett a little, but also intrigued her. She’d never considered herself a particularly emotional person, preferring instead to process things from an intellectual perspective. But it was odd, because Caroline _made_ her feel, things she thought she wasn’t even capable of feeling. That was an interesting twist in the story.


End file.
